Somme (river)
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| |
• coordinates | 49°54′23″N 03°24′11″E / 49.90639°N 3.40306°E |
---|---|
• elevation | 85 m (279 ft) |
Mouth | |
• location | Saint-Valery-sur-Somme English Channel |
• coordinates | 50°11′10″N 01°38′35″E / 50.18611°N 1.64306°E |
Length | 245 km (152 mi) |
Basin size | 6,550 km2 (2,530 sq mi) |
Discharge | |
• location | Abbeville |
• average | 35 m3/s (1,200 cu ft/s) |
The Somme (.
The river is 245 km (152 mi) in length, from its source in the high ground of the former
Name
The Somme river was known in ancient times as Samara. It presumably means 'the summery river', that is to say the 'quiet river', stemming from an adjective *sam-aro- ('summery') itself derived from the Celtic root *samo- ('summer').[4][5]
The city of
History
The Somme has featured prominently in several military campaigns. In 1066, the invasion fleet of William the Conqueror assembled in the Bay of the Somme, at Saint-Valery-sur-Somme. The river also featured in the 1346 withdrawal of Edward III of England's army, which forded the river at the Battle of Blanchetaque during the campaign, which culminated in the Battle of Crécy. Crossing the river also featured prominently in the campaign which led to the Battle of Agincourt in 1415.
In 1636, a Spanish army led by
Most famously, the
Départements and towns along the river
- Aisne: Saint-Quentin
- Somme : Ham, Péronne, Corbie, Amiens, Abbeville, Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, Le Crotoy
Tributaries
The tributaries listed comprise:
left tributaries: |
right tributaries: |
Hydrology
The river is characterized by a very gentle gradient and a steady flow. The valley is more or less steep-sided but its bottom is flat with
This satellite photograph shows the fenny valley crossing the chalk to the sea on the left. The sinuous length at the centre of the picture lies downstream from Péronne.
One of the fens, the Marais de l'Île is a nature reserve in the town of St.Quentin. The traditional market gardens of
In 2001, the Somme valley was affected by particularly high floods, which were in large part due to a rise in the water table of the surrounding land.
Flow-rate data (external links)
Monthly flow rates
Catchment area 5,560 km2 (2,150 sq mi).
Flow rates at Hangest-sur-Somme
Daily flow rates compared with mean rates for the time of year at Hangest-sur-Somme (m³/s). Catchment area 4,835 km2 (1,867 sq mi).
- for the year -
1993. 1995. 1997. 1998. 1999. 2001. 2003. 2005.
Flow rates at Péronne
Mean flow rates monthly and daily at Péronne (m³/s). Catchment area 1,294 km2 (500 sq mi).
- for the year -
1987. 1989. 1991.1992.1993.
1995.1996.1997.1999.2000.2001.2002.2003.2004.2005.
The construction of the Canal de la Somme began in 1770 and reached completion in 1843. It is 156 km (97 mi) long, beginning at St.Simon and opening into the Bay of the Somme. From St.Simon to Froissy (near Bray sur Somme, south of Albert), the canal is alongside the river. Thence to the sea, the river is partly river and partly navigation. From Abbeville, it is diverted through the silted, former estuary, to Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, where the maritime canal, once called the canal du Duc d'Angoulême enters the English Channel.
The
References
Citations
- ISBN 978-1-4058-8118-0.
- ISBN 978-0-521-15255-6.
- S2CID 130418864.
- ^ Matasović 2009, p. 321.
- ^ a b Falileyev 2010, s.v. Samara and Samarobriva Ambianorum.
- ^ Hanotaux, Gabriel (1933–1947). Histoire du cardinal de Richelieu (in French). Vol. 5. Paris. 319–21, 327.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ISBN 9780752447933.
Sources
- Delattre, Ch., Mériaux, E. and Waterlot, M. Guides Géologiques Régionaux: Région du Nord, Flandre Artois Boulonnais Picardie (1973)
- Falileyev, Alexander (2010). Dictionary of Continental Celtic Place-names: A Celtic Companion to the Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. CMCS. ISBN 978-0955718236.
- ISBN 9789004173361.